Hendley & Co. Inc. Makes New $2.16 Million Investment in FactSet Research Systems Inc. $FDS

Key Points

• Hendley & Co. Inc. opened a new position in FactSet Research Systems, buying 7,450 shares valued at about $2.16 million in the fourth quarter.
• FactSet reported quarterly earnings of $4.46 per share, beating expectations, while revenue rose 7.1% year over year to $611.02 million.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.16 per share from $1.10, even as analysts remain cautious with a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $279.85.

Hendley & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 7,450 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,162,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 444,058.1% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 13,857,733 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,021,376,000 after acquiring an additional 13,854,613 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 2.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,932,382 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,413,078,000 after acquiring an additional 107,184 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,961,231 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $561,873,000 after acquiring an additional 23,660 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 3.2% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 856,039 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $245,247,000 after acquiring an additional 26,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 16.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 793,832 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $227,425,000 after acquiring an additional 110,686 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.24% of the company's stock.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

Shares of FDS stock opened at $212.49 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $218.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $247.41. The company has a market cap of $7.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.67, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.69. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 12 month low of $185.00 and a 12 month high of $474.79.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The business services provider reported $4.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.37 by $0.09. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 24.48% and a return on equity of 30.25%. The firm had revenue of $611.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $604.78 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.28 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This is a boost from FactSet Research Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. FactSet Research Systems's payout ratio is currently 28.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on FDS shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $320.00 to $243.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $253.00 to $217.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $279.85.

About FactSet Research Systems

FactSet Research Systems Inc operates as a global provider of integrated financial data and analytics to the investment community. Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, the company offers a unified platform that aggregates content from thousands of sources, delivering real-time and historical market data, company fundamentals, estimates, fixed-income information and proprietary analytics to portfolio managers, research analysts, investment bankers and risk officers.

The company's core products include the FactSet Workstation, an application offering customizable screening, charting, portfolio analysis and news; APIs and data feeds for seamless integration into proprietary systems; and cloud-based solutions for thematic research and quantitative strategies.

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